


You're in Trouble

by thetruegayagenda



Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: Canonical Character Death, Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/F, I love them so much, Kinda, Kissing, Street Racing, but also curse them, fesbians, for getting me invested in fantasy lesbians, god bless the mcelroys
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-27
Updated: 2017-06-06
Packaged: 2018-09-02 16:11:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 13,764
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8673946
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thetruegayagenda/pseuds/thetruegayagenda
Summary: Four events in Hurley and Sloane's relationship, from their beginning to their end. Based off of fanart by lizparlettdraws, does contain spoilers for the Petals to the Metal arc of the Adventure Zone. Comment if you either liked it or didn't, all helps! I hope you enjoy!





	1. Chapter 1

Lieutenant Hurley of the Goldcliffe Militia had seen a lot of very very strange things in all her years working on the force, but this was by far the oddest. “This”, was of course referring to the woman currently standing in front of her, her true identity hidden by sleek, black leather armor, a short feathered cape, and an elegant raven’s skull mask. Her eyes were hidden by two lenses built into the mask, but her elven ears stuck out, and the bottom of her face was visible. She knew who she was. The Raven. The thief who had plagued Goldcliffe’s elite for months, evading all capture by both the militia and private mercs. So the assignment, failed by almost every other officer on the force, had been passed to her by Capt. Captain Bane.

_“You’re my best officer.”_

_“You’re the only one who can catch her.”_   


_“I trust you completely.”_

It had been three weeks since he said that, and this was the closest she had gotten. With the Raven halfway up a wall and no way to get to her.

“Hey! Raven!”

Said criminal whipped her head around, finally taking notice of the halfling striding angrily towards her. She swung around, hanging off the pole she was clinging to, and a brilliant smile split across her face. Hurley faltered for a second, shocked at how, beautiful, it was. For a thief. She quickly recovered, and shouted again at the woman hanging off the pole while holding up her Militia badge. “You’re in trouble, Raven! You can make this easy or hard!” Hurley was trying her best to keep a serious face, but her anger came through briefly when the Raven began to laugh so hard that she almost lost her grip.

“Are you serious?” When she saw the angry look on Hurley’s face she realized that yes, she was. “Alright copper, you’re cute so I’ll cut you a deal.” She grinned even more as Hurley’s face burned. “Let’s have us a little race, if you can catch me, I’ll stop stealing, I’ll even turn myself in, no fight.” Hurley crossed her arms, skeptical of the Raven’s offer. “But, if I win, you have to call off the Militia, and let me continue with my job.”

“What makes you think I have the authority to call of the Militia?”

“Don’t sell yourself short Lieutenant, I know that you’re the best officer on that force, short of our Dear Capt. Captain himself.” The anger that Hurley was trying so desperately to keep under check bubbled up at that remark. This thief, this criminal, knew who she was. Knew who had sent her. Probably knew even more than she was letting on.

Hurley lunged forward and grabbed the bottom of the Raven’s pants, startling the Raven enough to almost knock her off her perch, before she regained her balance and darted up the pole, her laugh the only thing echoing around in the empty city streets besides Hurley’s angry shouts. She was so focused on keeping her balance that she did not notice Hurley quickly climbing up after her, channeling her Ki to the point where she had the balance to make her way up the pole.

The Raven turned around once she got the top, ready to fling more mockery Hurley’s way, but before she even opened her mouth she was met with a fist straight to her jaw, sending her falling back onto the roof. Her hand shot up to her jaw, holding it gently while moving it to make sure that nothing was broken before she finally noticed Hurley striding towards her, all attempts to keep her anger under control thrown out the window.

“Oh shit.” She scrambled away from Hurley’s incoming strike, dodging several others before leaping over to the next roof, keeping an eye on the Lieutenant only a few feet behind her.

The chase continued for quite a while, though neither could tell how long for sure as both were too focused on the other. To any outsider walking, their fight and flight might have seemed more like a dance than anything else, each step following the other, each punch thrown expertly dodged by the other and thrown back. The only times there seemed to be a change in this is when the Raven threw a smoke bomb, throwing Hurley off for a few seconds, or when Hurley managed to balance her ki to the point of landing a hit on the Raven.

They ended up on a rickety old roof, far from the noble district this chase had started in. The Raven had managed to duck away from Hurley, but before she could celebrate her victory she felt a small pair of arms wrap around her waist, and she was sent hurtling forward into the ramshackle roof, landing on her back with a thud and a shout of pain.

“Ugh, what the fuck?”

Hurley had finally caught up with the Raven, and now was straddling her while her arms were thrown up in the air, rejoicing in her victory.

“Ha ha! Yes!” The Raven pulled up one of her arms to massage her forehead, but in her dazed state she accidentally knocked her mask off while doing so. Her black hair was spread out behind her, forming analmost halo around her face, and despite being covered in a sharp grimace, her face was dazzling. Hurley’s expression changed from one of victory to one of awe, her eyebrows slightly raised. The Raven squinted open her eyes, and saw Hurley staring down at her. She glanced around quickly, as much as she could while lying on the ground, confused as to why she was staring.

“Uh, Lieutenant?” Her voice shook Hurley from her stupor, though only slightly, and she raised her arm slowly to poke her cheek, though the moment she did, the roof began to shake, and a horrible cracking sound echoed in the alleys around them. Hurley whipped her head around, bewildered, but the Raven recognized that sound all too well, looking more annoyed than anything. “Well shit.”

The walls of the building below them collapsed, and the roof went with it, sending the two plummeting two stories to the ground below. The Raven braced herself for the impact, while Hurley screamed loudly and grabbed the Raven tightly, holding onto her while they fell. The Raven wrapped her arms around Hurley’s back, pulling the Militia officer close to her, curling herself into a ball and protecting them from the debris.

They hit the floor, and lay unmoving for a moment or two while the building settled around them. Hurley’s head was buried in the Raven’s neck, her arms tight around her, and the Raven was holding her close to her, refusing to let go until the dust has settled. Hurley pulled her face back, coughing slightly into her hand, and the Raven looked at her worriedly, bringing her hand up to brush some of the dirt off her face. They stayed silent for a few moments, gazing at each other, before Hurley looked away, blushing, and pushed herself away from the Raven.

“We should get out of here, c’mon, I think I see a path this way.” Hurley stood, brushing the dust off her Gi and climbing up a piece of the broken wall before looking back at the Raven, who was still lying on the ground. She quickly scrambled to her feet and followed Hurley, surprised once again at her agility.

They stood, semi-awkwardly, outside of the ruinous building, neither exactly sure of what to say. The Raven turned towards the wreckage, one arm on her hip while the other ran through her hair in exasperation.

“Well shit. Guess I’m gonna have to make another mask.” Hurley's awkwardness faded to slight anger once again, and she strode over to the Raven, poking her in the chest to get her attention.

“Hey, we had a deal! I caught you, you have to stop stealing. That means no more mask.”

“Well hey Lieutenant, a gal’s gotta make a living, doesn’t she?” Hurley crossed her arms. glaring up at the Raven’s grinning face. She chuckled at such a serious look on such a small woman. “Alright, alright, I don’t want anyone saying I’m not a woman of my word, so we’ll cut another deal. Ya the battlewagon races, right??” Hurley nodded, of course she did. A large amount of the Militia’s funding came from wealthy nobles who watched the races, even though they were technically illegal. “Good, good. Right, so. You’re fast. One of the fastest people I’ve seen, and you don’t let anything stop you. Hell, you caught me, not many other people can say that.”

“Do you have a point to all these ramblings, or can I take you in already?”

“Oh right! Another part of this new deal, don’t turn me in.” Hurley looked like she wanted to protest, but the Raven continued speaking before she could get a word out. “I want you to race with me.” Hurley raised her eyebrow in shock, unsure as to whether she had actually heard the Raven correctly. 

“What?”

“I want you to race with me.” The Raven grabbed her by the shoulders, refusing to break their gaze.

“I’m a Militia officer. That’s illegal, I can’t!”

“Lieutenant. Forget for a moment that you’re a member of the Militia. Forget everything that’s ever lead you to this moment and answer me one question; tonight, when you beat me, when you caught me, how did you feel?” Hurley paused for a moment, her immediate answer of ‘how I always feel when I catch a criminal’ lodged in her throat, refusing to come out. Because she didn’t feel that way. She felt every beat of her heart, the blood pumping through her veins, every sense on fire. She felt, alive, alive in a way that she hadn’t been for a very long time. And with this beautiful woman standing in front of her, what was she supposed to do, lie?

“I felt alive.” The Raven’s face split with a magnificent smile, one that Hurley was quick tomimic, that same feeling of anticipation filling every inch of her, mind and body.

“Wonderful!” She was pulled into a hug, the picked up and swung around, and their laughs echoed through the streets, loud and uncaring about anything else in the world. She set Hurley down, then brushed aside a pice of hair which was stuck to her forehead, slight worry set in her face. “Oh shit, I think you hit your head pretty bad in there.” She reached up, and when she pulled her hand back she noticed that it was bloody, and she could slightly feel something dripping down her face, though she was still riding the adrenaline high.

“Did I?”

“Yeah, pretty badly.” The Raven pulled a small scrap of cloth from her pocket, faded bloodstains dotting its surface, and dabbed slightly at Hurley’s forehead. “C’mon, I have a hideout nearby, we can patch that up.” Hurley crossed her arms, smirking.

“Usually I have dinner with a woman before I go home with her.” The Raven slung her arm around Hurley’s neck, walking them down one of the adjoining alleys while whispering in her ear.

“Well we’ve already deviated from the norm, why not go a little further?” She shoved at her side, in a way that she would have never imagined doing with the notorious criminal known as The Raven. She staggered slightly, her adrenaline giving way to the dull throb behind her eyes. She brought her hand up to rub between her eyes, and then squealed slightly when she felt a pair of arms wrap around her torso and legs, lifting her off the ground. She wrapped her arms around the Raven’s neck without thought, shocked at how warm her skin was. She burrowed her head into the feather cape that rested on the Ravens shoulder.

“I don’t even know your name.” She murmured, her voice slightly muffled by the feathers but still perceptible by the Raven’s elven ears.

“Hmm, I suppose your right.” When she said nothing further, Hurley spoke again,

“If I tell you mine, will you tell me yours?” She nodded, and a wide goofy smile appeared on Hurley’s face. “Well I’m Hurley.” The Raven looked down at the halfling in her arms with something akin to care, and walked forward, intent on getting to her nearby hideout as quickly as possible.

“It’s nice to meet you Hurley, I’m Sloane.” 

“That’s a pretty name… But you’re still in trouble.” The Raven —Sloane— chuckled, the low sound vibrating against Hurley’s cheek.

“I’m sure I am.” But Hurley was already asleep, her breaths fluttering slightly through Sloane’s hair

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've wanted to write something for these two ever since I first listened to this arc, and I'm really happy with how this turned out. Shoutout to my friend at unsafewaters.tumblr.com for betaing this, otherwise im sure there would be a shit tone of typos. And who knows, maybe there still are! Anyway, thank's for reading this fic, and I hope you enjoy. Right now I only have four chapters planned to go along with the four panels from the comic, but that might change sometime. Updates on Sunday's! Also, like I said in the summary, if you liked the fic, please comment or leave a kudos, it really does help.
> 
> http://lizparlettdraws.tumblr.com/post/143087019961/one-more-set-of-kinda-spoiler-y-speculative  
> (Link to the comic)  
> (Seriously check her out her art is amazing)


	2. Chapter 2

Hurley sat, crosslegged, against the bare wall of her tiny, one bedroom apartment, carefully creasing a piece of wrapping paper to the edge of a box. Growing up as a monk, she had never focused on material objects or possessions, but this was one thing that she did not want to mess up.It was a gift, for Sloane. They had been working together for almost a month, preparing for the Battlewagon race which was only a few days away. Hurley still remembered the feeling that she had when she first drove with Sloane, like the feeling she had when she had caught her, but amplified ten-fold. 

 

 

_“Sloane, there’s no way that thing is legal.” Sloane was standing a few feet in front of her, proudly presenting a sleek black battle wagon, filled with dents and scratches, and the left wheel was defiantly close to falling off. On the hood of the wagon, there was a giant raven’s skull, Sloane clearly going with a theme. Her smile was wide, and she leaned against the side of the wagon._

_“That’s kinda the point Lieutenant, this is all illegal.” There was a creaking sound, and the piece of the wagon that Sloane was leaning against broke off with a sharp crack, sending her falling to the ground with a thud. Hurley moved forward, but stopped when she saw Sloane jump up so quickly that she tripped over her own feet. Hurley began laughing, a deep laugh which echoed all around the near empty garage. Sloane looked up from catching her balance, a light pink blush dusting her cheeks. She switched back to her usual flirtatious self before the halfling woman could notice the short lapse._

_She sauntered over to her, and before she noticed Sloane picked her up, swooping her around before hurrying over to the wagon. Hurley yelped, banging her fists against Sloane’s side but unable to release herself from the woman’s grip._

_“Sloane! Let me go I swear to the gods!”Sloane only laughed and threw Hurley into the passengers side of the wagon, shutting the door and hopping into the drivers seat before she had a chance to get out. She leaned back, flipping a series of switches while Hurley tried to open to door, to no success, before she grabbed the intricately carved handle of the shift lever, which vaguely looked like it resembled yet another ravens skull._

_“Pedal to the Metal baby!” She clicked the lever forward before slamming her foot down, sending the car screeching forward, going 0 to 100 real quick. They raced through the streets, passing several extremely surprised Milita members and pedestrians, with Hurley screaming the entire way and gripping the seat of the wagon furiously. She shut her eyes after a short while, not wanting to see her imminent death._

_After what felt like several sharp turns that the wagon should not have been able to make, the car straightened out, and Hurley felt a light tapping on her forehead. She cracked open an eye, and she saw Sloane grinning in the corner of her eye, but most of what she saw was the vast, never-ending dunes of the desert. She let go of the side of the car and looked over her shoulder, seeing Goldcliffe rapidly fading into the distance._

_“Sloane.”_

_“Mhmm?”_

_“Where the hell are we?” She grinned, not saying a word, and Hurley could see that in front of them were these two, enormous pillars, the only structures visible for miles. The wagon slowed to a stop just by one of the pillars, and as soon as it had stopped, Sloane hopped out and walked over to the passenger side, knocking lightly on the widow. Hurley slowly rolled down the window, almost comically, and as soon as it was down far enough Sloane reaching in and swung the door open, causing Hurley to fall out, almost hitting the ground before landing in Sloane’s arms._

_“Well if you’d wanted to be in my arms you could’ve just asked.” She blushed, then pushed Sloane away and brushed the dirt off of her clothes._

_“Why the hell did you do that?”_

_“Because it’s your turn!”_

_“My turn to do what?” She shoved the keys at her then dropped into the passengers seat, her large smile never leaving her face._

_“To drive!” Hurley’s face immediately dropped, her eyes flickering back between the keys in her hands and Sloane several times._

_“Sloane.”_

_“Yes?”_

_“I have never driven before.” She leaned out of the car and booped Hurley on the nose, clearly amused at this series of events._

_“Well duh, that’s why we’re practicing out here! Plus, you don’t really need to know how to drive to know how to drive one of these babies.” She patted the dash of the wagon lovingly, and Hurley sighed, but still went around and sat in the drivers seat, clearly nervous. Her knuckles were white as she gripped the wheel. “Hey.” Sloane's voice pulled her from her inner panic, and when Hurley looked over her eyes were shining with assurance. “You can do this.” She rested her hand over Hurley’s on the gear shift, nodding at Hurley’s still hesitant look. She took a deep breath before nodding back, then knocked the shift forward and slammed her foot on the pedal, sending the wagon speeding forward._

_The wind. That was all she could hear, the wind rushing past her ears, whipping her hair around, flowing into her very being. She could see Sloane out of the corner of her eye, but she wasn’t really there, just a faint image in the background. The only things really left in the world were Hurley, the wagon, and the track in front of her. She let out a hesitant laugh, which grew louder and louder until she was uncontrollably laughing as she sped out across the desert, Sloane laughing just as loudly beside her._

_“I told you you could do it!” Hurley could only shake her head and stare out into the sands around them, finding herself at a loss for words at that moment. This feeling, of racing along the desert as fast as she possibly could, was one of pure freedom, one which Hurley had never really felt before. The adrenaline raced through her veins, spurring her on to go faster and faster until the world outside was a blur, her line of sight fading to everything around her._

_She was pulled out of her reverie by an incessant tapping on her side, which quickly grew to a full-blown punch. “Hurley!”_

_“What?” They were both shouting over the deafening winds of the desert around them._

_“Hit the brake!”_

_“The what?”_

_“The brake!”_

_“What?” Sloane lunged over the seats and slammed her hand down on the pedal right next to Hurley’s foot, sending the wagon screeching to a halt, Hurley just now noticing the enormous pillars that rose up from the ground just behind them, and the countless stands that surrounded them. Sloane was laying in her lap, panting slightly, and after a moment she quickly scrambled out of the car, a slight blush gracing her cheeks, Hurley quickly following. “Sloane? Are you alright?” Sloane was turned away from her, her hands covering her face slightly. Hurley took a step in her direction, but faltered when Sloane spun around and picked her up, laughing wildly._

_“I knew you’d be a natural!” Hurley hesitated for a moment, still in shock from being picked up, but then joined Sloane, wrapping her arms around her and tucking her head into the crook in her neck._

_“And how were you so sure of that?” Her words came out muffled, and she pulled her head back slightly so that she could be able to see Sloane’s face. She moved her hand up and brushed a sweat-slicked strand of hair off her forehead, her hand coming to rest just behind her ear._

_“Call it a gut feeling.”_

 

 

Hurley shook her head, and carefully creased the wrapping paper against the the edge of the box, wanting this gift to be perfect. Sloane had done so much for her, in such a short time, and Hurley wanted to show her that she was eternally grateful. She was focused on her gift that she failed to notice the time, and by the time she finished she only had a few minutes to get to Sloane’s garage for practice.

“Shit!” She shoved the box in her bag, slung it over her shoulder, and crawled out her open window, taking the back alleyways all the way to the garage. She was almost caught by a group of Militia members, but managed to duck behind a wall just in time. Again, the adrenaline was racing through her veins, the thrill and fear becoming near equal. After they passed, she hurried to Sloane’s keeping a careful watch out for anyone else who might recognize her.

As she got closer and closer to the garage, a gentle, jazzy tune began to grow louder and louder, until by the time she was outside it was loud but unrecognizable. She crept in, careful to avoid the creaky door hinge on the left side of the door. Sloane, a screwdriver in one hand, was dancing furiously around the wagon, her hair whipping around her head as she hummed along to the song.

Hurley stood at the entrance, standing in shock of Sloane’s beauty. Everyone always looks better when they’re working on something they love, but Sloane’s was something past beauty, it was, pure, utter, radiance. She blinked a few times, then dropped into a crouch, slipping on her mask before sneaking across the floor, careful to avoid any random debris which littered the floor. She had made her mask a week ago, a racing tradition according to Sloane. She’d made it a ram’s skull, to go along with Sloane’s theme. Sloane had full out squealed when she had seen it.

She slinked around the car, then quickly moved forward when Sloane’s back was turned, grabbing at her sides. “Boo!”

“HOLY SHIT!” Sloane spun around, her fist quickly connecting with the side of Hurley’s face, who fell immediately. Her mask clattered across the floor, and she lay there, unmoving. “Hurley? Hurley!” Sloane dove to her knees just besides Hurley’s body, and pulled her into her lap. “Hurley, Hurley c’mon, wake up. Please, please, wake up, please.” Her hands were shaking, and she ran them through Hurley’s hair over and over again, her voice weak. Hurley cracked open an eye, the very quickly reached up and bopped her finger on Sloane’s nose.

“Fooled ya!” She looked down, her expression completely blank, then pushed Hurley off of her lap. She stood quickly and and stalked over to the table in the corner. Hurley was chuckling quietly, but then looked over at Sloane’s unmoving form. “Sloane?” She twisted around and began to hurl various tools and wagon mechanisms at Hurley. The first one hit her square in the chest, and the she began to dodge, whooping with every piece she dodged.

“Hurley! You! Piece! Of! Shit!”

“Haha!”

“I can’t believe you would do that! Why would you do that?!” 

“I thought it would be funny! And it was!” She threw the last tool on the table, then looked around for anything else. Both their gazes fell on Hurley’s ram mask, then they looked back at each other, then at the mask, and they both dove for it. Sloane’s height gave her an advantage, and she managed to grab it just the moment the Hurley’s fingers graced it’s edge, and she whipped it up into the air, far above Hurley’s reach.

“Hah! Success!” Hurley brushed the dirt off her Gi, and gestured towards Sloane.

“Give it here, or you’re in trouble.”She smirked, twirling the mask in her hands. She tossed it up in the air a few times, letting it fall just into Hurley’s reach before pulling it back again.

“If anything, you’re the one who should be in trouble for scaring me so bad! Besides, if you really want it, you should just come up here and get it.”

“Hmm.” She nodded, then ducked around, grabbing up on Sloane’s elbow and pulling herself up, moving fast enough to sit on her shoulders and grab the mask out of Sloane’s hands. She plopped it on, then ducked her head down to just beside Sloane’s face, giggling slightly as she poked at her face. She paused for a moment, then quietly reached into her bag, crinkling the paper as she tried to pull Sloane’s mask out of the box.

“Hurley? What are you doing back there?” She tried to twist her head around to get a look at what she was doing, but Hurley quickly pushed her head forward, shushing her when she tried to question her. “Okay…. keep being creepy.” Hurley removed the mask from the box, saddened slightly at the loss of her perfect wrapping job, but it was worth it for this surprise.

“Surprise!” She gently placed the raven mask on Sloane’s head and hopped off her shoulders, wanting to see her reaction properly. Sloane lifted her hands up to the mask, running them over the surface a few times before coming to rest in front of the eyes. “So? What d’ya think?” Sloane pushed up the bottom of the mask until it was resting on her forehead, and Hurley could see that her pale green eyes were glistening with tears. She let out a quiet sob, and moved a hand to cover her mouth to muffle it. Hurley took a few steps forward, her eyebrows knitted together in worry. “Sloane? A-Are you alright?” Sloane nodded, tears streaming down her face. She grabbed Hurley’s hands, running her thumbs over the bandages which covered her hands and knuckles.

“Hurley, no one has, has ever done anything so nice, so, thoughtful for me.”

“Really?”

“Yes. Thank you, so, so so much.” Sloane’s gaze held so much intensity that Hurley had to look away, fiercely blushing. Her hand rubbed slightly at the back of her neck while she tried anything to avoid those piercing eyes.

“It was nothing, really.” Sloane looked like she was about to say more, but her mask suddenly dropped down off her forehead, the beak knocking against Hurley’s own mask. They were silent for a moment before bursting out into laughter, both of them falling into the others arms while sitting on the floor and leaning against the side of the wagon. Hurley sighed, resting on Sloane’s shoulder while tapping her fingers against her thigh.

“But seriously never pull any surprise shit like that again.”

“Hm, no promises.”

“I will punch you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woot! I actually published a chapter on time. Never done that before, let's hope it keeps up. I'm fairly happy with how this chapter turned out, and I hope that can continue with the next two. Again, comment if you either liked it or didn't like it, and kudos always help. 
> 
> http://lizparlettdraws.tumblr.com/post/143087019961/one-more-set-of-kinda-spoiler-y-speculative  
> (Link to the comic)  
> (Seriously check her out her art is amazing)


	3. Chapter 3

The day of their first race together had come, and Hurley was frantically pacing around the garage. She was trying to think back to everything that Sloane had taught her over the past month, every mistake that she couldn’t make. Sloane was out grabbing one last piece for the wagon, which left Hurley alone with only her thoughts.

_“What if I mess up the race?”_

_“What if I mess up the wagon?”_

_“What if… Sloane leaves? If I never see her again?”_

That very thought of never seeing Sloane again, of never hearing her roaring laughter at the dumbest of jokes, of never seeing her broad, bright smile, of never being engulfed in her arms again, sent Hurley deeper into her panic, until she was hiding under a table against the wall, hyperventilating. There was a ratty and torn blanket draped off it’s side, which effectively hid her from sight.

“Hurley! Come outside, I’ve got something to show you!” Sloane's voice called from outside, the gentle hum of the wagon’s engine audible. Hurley whimpered, wrapping her arms around her legs. Moments passed with no response, and Sloane called out again.

“Hurley! Are you in there?” Her voice grew slowly louder, and Hurley could hear the gentle clacking of her boots on the pavement just before she came into sight. Her face was covered by her Raven mask, but she tipped it up when she came in, looking around for Hurley. “Hey, Hurley, you here? I could’ve sworn she was here when I left.” Sloane muttered to herself before she finally heard Hurley’s whimpers, and she hurried over to where she heard them. When she was knelt before the table, she began to move aside the blanket, but Hurley’s hand shot out and pulled it back into place.

Sloane chuckled, her laugh deep and smooth, and Hurley began to quietly sob, her fear of never hearing that beautiful laugh again. She took off her mask, placed it on her hand, and ducked it behind the blanket. She tapped the skull against Hurley’s side over and over again until Hurley finally got mad enough to emerge from behind the blanket, though only to yell at Sloane.

“Goddammit Sloane knock it off!”

“Hah! A reaction!” Sloane quickly scurried under the table and sat beside Hurley, wrapping an arm around her so that she couldn’t escape. Still, she tried her best, turning away in Sloanes grip. “Hurley.” She shook her head, refusing to even look in Sloane’s direction. “Hurl. C’mon love, look at me!” Still no movement. “I’m sorry for poking you in the side with a skull.” She leaned forward and rested her head on Hurley’s, then dropped it to her shoulder, looking expectantly at the Halfling. Neither said anything for several moments.

“Ugh! Fine, I forgive you.” Sloane threw her hands up, then rolled over and flopped down into Hurley’s lap. Hurley still refused to look down towards Sloane. She rolled her eyes, then reached up and grabbed Hurley’s cheeks, pulling her face down till she was forced to look down at her own.

“Hurley. What. Is. The. Matter.” With every word Sloane pulled Hurley’s face closer to hers, until she was only a few inches from her own. Hurley was blushing, as was Sloane, but only Hurley seemed to be slightly hindered by it.

“Sloane, let go of me.” She tried to pull back, but Sloane’s grip was unrelenting.

“No, not until you tell me what is the matter.” She tried again, punching at Sloane’s sides and managing to get her head back a small amount, but not out of her grip. “If you just tell me what’s the matter then I’ll let you go!”

“No!”

“Why not?!”

“Because!”

“That’s a bullshit answer and you know it!”

“Because I don’t want to lose you you idiot!” Hurley was sobbing at this point, any attempts at escape feeble and half hearted. her tears dripped onto Sloanes face, and she looked up at her with her eyebrows knitted together. She did not let go of her face, but she did loosen her grip, so that she was more holding her than gripping her. Hurley’s hands were fisted into the lapels of Sloanes racing gear, wrinkling the previously perfect piece of fabric, and she maneuvered herself so that she was lying on top of Sloane, sobbing into her. Sloane attempted to ask something, but instead went to rubbing her arm up and down Hurley’s back, soothing her whenever a particularly loud sob escaped. She brushed the hair away from Hurleys ear and whispered to her.

“Now why in the world would you think that you’d lose me?” Hurley pulled her head up slightly, not wanting to repeat her pattern of muffling her words into Sloane’s clothes, and choked out an answer.

“Be-because I could wreck the car, or mess up the race, or hurt someone, or hurt you! and if I messed up you might realize that you don’t like me, or, or that you don’t want to be friends, and I don’t want to lose you, an-and I don't think I could imagine a life without you at this point, and I know that sounds weird because we’ve only known each other for a month, and that’s not a long amount of time, and I just don’t, I don’t…” Hurley was hysterical at this point, almost no pauses between her words, and her tears were making a sizable blotch on Sloane’s jacket.

“Hurley, it’s alright. I want you to put your hands just over my chest, can you do that?” She nodded, her hands coming to rest just above Sloanes heart. “Alright, now I want you to breath along with me, and my heartbeat. Two beats, breath in, two beats, breathe out, okay?” She nodded again, and they began to focus on their breathing, Hurley following Sloanes lead and her heartbeat.

“Okay, okay, I think I’m okay now… Thanks.” Sloane patted Hurleys shoulder and smiled, a soft one compared to her usual wide ones.

“Anytime. Now let’s get up, because I honestly do not remember the last time I cleaned in here, if ever. Hurley laughed slightly, then rolled off Sloane, offering a hand to help her up. Sloane shooed the hand away, choosing instead to push up with her hands and land expertly on her feet, although there was a little stumble. There was an awkward silence for a moment where neither of them spoke, until Hurley sighed and looked away, once again avoiding Sloane’s gaze.

“Sloane, I’m sorry for just now, I, I think my anxieties just got the better of me. I won’t let it happen again.” She wiped some lingering tears from her eye, clearly angry at herself. 

“Oh, Hurley.” Sloane moved forward with her usual unexpected speed, enveloping her in a deep hug. Sloane’s eyes were tinged with tears, and she refused to put Hurley down despite her feeble struggles. “I promise, promise promise promise, that no matter what happens, I won’t leave you.”

“But what if—”

“No buts! You can’t get rid of me now. I’m like a leech.” Hurley stopped struggling, chuckling a bit at Sloane’s description of herself. Sloane paused, her smile curving upwards into one of clearly evil intent, and she turned her head and bit the back of Hurley’s, ignoring the clump of hair that came with it.

“Ahh! Stop biting me!” 

“No! I’m a leech!” Hurley screeched, squirming out of Sloane’s grip and ducked away from her arms, running outside. She heard Sloane yelling after her but she paid her no heed, only focused on escaping her hug. As soon as she was outside she came to a halt, staring at the wagon, which did not look the same as it did when Sloane left. It had the same basic shape, all of it’s previous pieces still in place, but there was a key difference on the front bumper. Just beyond the hood where Sloane’s iconic Raven skull was grafted in, there was a depiction of a ram skull, protruding slightly from the front bumper. Hurley heard Sloane walk up beside her, and when Hurley looked over at her, she was refusing to look her way.

“Sloane. What is that?”

“It’s nothing! Just a, little gift that I thought that you might like… Maybe.” Tears once again sprung to her eyes, and before Sloane could attempt to comfort her or ask her any questions, Hurley had wrapped her arms around Sloane’s legs and lifted her up, laughing wildly. Sloane faltered the moment her legs were off the ground, not expecting Hurley to be able to, or even to try to. She let out a very unattractive squawk, and latched onto Hurley, one hand on her hair, one hand in her hair and the other fisted in her shirt. “Oh my fuck, Hurley, put me down put me down, right now.”

“What if I don’t want to?”

“Hurley! Now!”

“Alright alright!” Hurley set Sloane down, but still kept her arms around her, hugging her tightly.

“Sooo, what do you think?”

“Sloane, do you remember last week when I gave you the raven mask, and you said that no one had ever done anything so nice or thoughtful for you? Well I feel the same way today.” Sloane bent down and returned the hug.

“Well I meant it when I said that, and I mean it when I say that you are never getting rid of me.” Hurley moved away from Sloane for a moment, hurrying inside, before she ran out again with her ram mask resting on her head, and Sloane’s mask in her hand. She tossed it her way, then hurried over to the wagon, opening the drivers side door and sliding in.

“Now let’s go win a race.” Sloane let out a whoop, then hopped into the passenger seat, her hand instinctively slipping into Hurley’s. She squeezed her hand encouragingly, and they took off, racing through the back alleys and side roads that lead out of the city into the desert. They both stayed silent for several minutes, until the were on the very edge of the city, the desert visible in the near distance.

“Hey Hurley, before we get to the track, I need to tell you something.” Hurley let off the gas and turned towards Sloane, intent of listening to whatever she had to say. "No matter what happens in this race, we're sticking together, okay?" Sloane placed a hand on Hurley's shoulder, and Hurley grinned back at her, all previous unease and anxiety gone, replaced by a grin of utter certainty.

"Well we're gonna win, so why even worry?" Sloane grinned back, and their grins never faded, even as they were plunged into the darkness in the minutes before the race. They could no longer see each other, but their hands remained gently clasped between the seats, resting just below the gear shift. The horns outside of their box sounded, and the light came rushing in, along with the sound of the wind and the revving of the other engines which surrounded them, but even with all that noise they were only focused on each other and the sand before them.

 

 

The wind whipped past the sleek black battlewagon as it raced along the desert dunes, the sand it brought with it blocking their vision. Hurley and Sloane were ducking in-between the other wagons on the “track” if it could even be called that. Hurley was trying her best to keep the wagon steady and moving, but this was becoming increasingly difficult as the wind and sand picked up, and the number of other racers around them increased.

“Hurley! Keep the wagon steady!” Sloane yelled through the open window, her voice muffled but heard clearly by Hurley thanks to the stones of farspeech they had slipped into their masks, after the infamous “Hurley almost killed us by driving off a cliff because she couldn’t hear me” accident. Half of Sloane’s body was hanging out of the passenger side window, gripping onto the roof of the car to keep her balance. In her right hand she held a flaming spear, which she threw expertly at any wagon which got too close to them.

“I’m trying my best!” Hurley shouted back, but there was no response. She managed to pull her gaze fromthe road for a few moments, but when she looked over at where Sloane was, there was no one. The window was open, sand was pouring in, but Sloane was gone. Hurley frantically turned her head, trying to look out the back to see Sloane’s body possible laying on the dunes behind them, but there was nothing, only the gusts of sand. In the back of her mind she remembered the bubbles that were supposed to pop up anytime someone fell off their wagon, but that did little to calm her panic. She was so distracted that she failed to notice the wagon in front of her that she was rapidly approaching until the last second, just barely managing to avoid crashing into it with a last minute swerve to the right.

She wiped her eyes under her mask, stuffing away her emotions for the time being

“Make it through the race, for Sloane. You’ll find her again.” She steeled her thoughts and stepped down into the pedal, the wagon rattling along to the front of the competitors wagon. It was almost the exact opposite of theirs, appearing to be some kind of amalgamation of parts and things that she could not for the life of her recognize. In the front, there was some, hand-shaped contraption, though it was closed in a fist. She noticed that it was trembling slightly, either from the wind or something else, but her eyes widened in shock when she saw an incredibly familiar leather boot stuck out of it’s side.

“Sloane!” She yelled into her stone of farspeech, all of her fleeting hopes immediately raised. She let out a whoop when she heard a muffled but distinct voice.

“Hurley! Help! These bastards grabbed me right out of the window!” Hurley looked around, frantically trying to come up with an idea of how to save Sloane. Her eyes landed on the stack of of spears in the backseat, as well as a lengthy piece of rope. She quickly formulated an idea, a stupid one but an idea nonetheless, grabbing the rope and tying it around a few of the spears as well as the wheel. She dropped the end of one of the spears on the accelerator, then leaned out the window, rope slung over her shoulder and spears tucked under her arm.

“Hurley! What the fuck are you doing out there?”

“I’m trying my best, okay? I promise I’ll get you out soon!” She pulled at the rope in her left hand, causing the wagon to take a sharp curve to the right. It rammed into the side of the amalgam wagon, the pieces of it rattling and banging around, a few falling off into the sands below. The drivers of the wagon quickly attempted to retaliate, the hand raising sharply to smash down onto her wagon, and Sloane’s screams could be heard through the thick metal.

“Hey! Hurley this is the exact opposite of heeeelllllpp!” Her shout of fear was cut off.

“Calm down, I have a plan!” Hurley pulled out one of the spears, muttering a small prayer to any gods which might be listening, and hurled it towards the hand which was rapidly approaching the hood of their wagon. It lit on fire halfway through the air, and in a blinding explosion, the hand cracked open. Sloane fell through and landed onto the hood of their wagon with a loud bang, and as soon as she was on solid “ground” again she quickly scrambled towards the windshield, her face blank with shock. She turned her head towards Hurley, who was still hanging out the window and laughing wildly. She pressed the spear down harder on the accelerator, sending the wagon speeding out in front of the one to their right.

“How the hell was that a plan? You threw an explosive spear at me!”

“Hey, it worked didn’t it?” Sloane rolled her eyes then made her way across the front to the wagon, pushing Hurley inside before returning to her perch on the window, gripping the side of the wagon much harder than before. A hatch on the wagon behind them banged open, loud enough to be audible over the winds, and a group of goblins leaned out, one of top of the other in an almost cartoonish way. Sloane leaned back, spear in her hand and a smirk on her face, and was about to throw it at the goblins when Hurley’s voice came through the stone. “Wait!”

“What is it? Are you okay?”

“Yeah, yeah, I’m fine, just… don’t kill them.” Sloane paused for a moment, no reply to Hurley’s request. They were rapidly approaching the massive pillars that marked the finish line, and the wagon behind them was catching up, fast.

“Okay. I promise. No killing.” Hurley let out a breath she didn’t know she was holding, her grip loosing on the wheel for a second before she steeled herself again, smirking widely. “But I am gonna damage their wagon. I mean, we gotta win someway, right?” 

“If you miss this shot we’re in trouble!”

“Ha ha! Fat chance!” Hurley glanced out the window at Sloane, who was clearly right in her element. Her hair and cape were flowing wildly behind her, the raven mask fitting neatly over her features, pure joy radiating from every part of her.

“Beautiful.” With a flick of her wrist she sent the spear flying towards the amalgam weapon, their speed combined making it so that the spear hit the left wheel of the wagon. Sloane could see the look of realization on the goblin’s faces before they all jumped out of the wagon, their bubbles activating the moment they hit the ground. Sloane let out a whoop of joy before sliding back into the wagon and slipping her fingers between Hurley’s and squeezing comfortingly.

“Now let’s go win this thing.” Hurley nodded, knocking the wagon up a gear before speeding forward, the only things left in the world being her, Sloane, and the finish line.

“I love you.”

“What?” Hurley stared straight forward, having blurted out those words just before they crossed the finish line. She slammed the breaks, sending Sloane jolting forward slightly, and jumped out of the wagon, both incredibly happy at wining and incredibly frightened of Sloanes possible reaction. The stands surrounding them were filled with countless people, their cheers an inaudible roar, and the wagons of any surviving competitors wheeled in a few seconds after Hurley and Sloane, their drivers clearly disappointed at losing but still riding the adrenaline high. She heard the slam of a door behind her and was tugged around by a pair of strong and familiar hands. Even though her face was covered with a mask, Hurley was just short enough to be able to see her expression, though she was unable to read it.

“Uhh, h-hey Sloane. We won?” Sloane held her hands on Hurley’s shoulders, her expression completely unreadable.

“Hurley. Did you mean what you said back there.” Hurley attempted to pull away, but like before, Sloane’s grip was too strong. She shook her slightly, staring straight at Hurley. “Please, tell me.”

“Okay, fine, yes I meant it. I love you, alright?” Sloane’s expression remained unreadable, though a little bit softer, and she knocked Hurley’s mask up a little bit, not so much that the crowd could see her face, but just enough to be able to see her eyes and cupped her cheek in her calloused hand. Tears pricked her eyes, and she crossed her arms and tried to look away, but Sloane’s hand kept her there.

“Oh Hurley…” A few tears ran down her face, and she bit her lip to avoid sobbing audibly. She reached her hand up to wipe her eyes, but was stopped by Sloane suddenly grabbing her hand and pulling her in, and she was about to protest when she felt Sloanes lips pressed up against her own. She froze, her eyes wide under the mask, and in her shock she forgot to kiss back, at least until Sloane began to pull away. She was knocked out her stupor by the cheers of the people around them. She quickly grabbed the back of Sloane’s neck, pulling her in for another kiss, deeper this time. She had to turn her head to a slightly odd angle due to their masks, but she ignored it, instead focusing on the softness of her hair, her chapped lips, the little scars which dotted her skin. The kiss wasn’t perfect, both of their lips were chapped, their masks banged together, and Hurley accidentally bit down too hard on Sloane’s lip, but she still felt fireworks, and through her tears she was smiling so wide that her lips kept slipping from Sloane’s, who was giggling so much that she did the same. “I feel the exact same way.”

“Really?” Sloane laughed, cupping both of Hurley’s cheeks in her hands and nuzzling her cheek with the point of her beak.

“Why the hell do you think I kissed you you idiot?”

“You tripped?” Sloane swung an arm around Hurley, kissing the top of her mask repeatedly, before the bookie walked over and handed them their winnings. “Soooo, am I in trouble for throwing the spear?” Sloane leaned over and nuzzled into Hurley’s neck, bitting at her earlobe slightly, chuckling when a shiver ran though her body.

“Hmm, we’ll see when we get home, how about that?” Hurley’s face burned bright red, all previous confidence dashed, and Sloane pulled her quickly to the wagon, still nuzzling againsther neck. “I love you Hurley.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I need to figure out how the hell to work these chapter notes... anyways, here it is! The last nice chapter before the epic shitshow that I have planned for chapter 4. I have made my friends cry when the proofread it and i sure as hell am gonna make you cry too. I feed off your tears and anguish. But they do kiss before they die! So read, enjoy, comment if you like and kudos always help, yada yada yada, love y'all.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, the final chapter is finally here! I'm really sorry for such the long delay y'all, I don't really have any solid reason for why I dropped it for so long other than school and mental health, but now it's finished. I didn't have anyone to Beta it this time around, so I hope there aren't too many mistakes, and please point them out if you notice them. Thanks for sticking with me through this fic, and I hope you enjoy. Kudos and comment, they really help.
> 
> Credit for the idea goes to @lizparlettdraws on Tumblr  
> You can find me on Tumblr @thetruegayagenda
> 
> (also, while reading through the TAZ wiki page for Sloan, I realized that I had been misspelling both her and Goldcliff's name, but I don't feel like editing the whole thing, so yeah.)

Hurley reached up and rubbed between her eyes, the tell-tale signs of a stress headache bearing their ugly heads. She was sat, crosslegged, on Sloanes bed, Militia case files littered around her. Capt. Captain Bane had been giving her more and more cases, with less and less time to solve them, and the stress of it all combined with having to hide her time spent racing lead to near constant headaches and flares of anxiety.

“Hey, Hurley! Did ya see where I put my hairtie?” Sloane’s voice called out from behind the cracked open bathroom door, along with the slight noise of running water.

“No, I haven’t, but didn’t I tell you to buy more than one of those things?” 

“Well, yes,” Sloane pushed open the bathroom door and stepped into her bedroom, wearing a pair of grey sweats and a ratty old tank top that was too small for her, acting more like a crop top than anything. She was running her hands through her hair, as a makeshift hairbrush. “But you always know where mine is, so why would I need to spend money buying more?” 

Sloane waited a few moments, confusion laced on her face at Hurley’s lack of response, but it changed to a small mischievous smile when an idea ran through her mind. She quickly ducked down, still not noticed by Hurley, and crept across the room, grabbing their two racing masks off the side table before crawling over to the side of the bed next to Hurley. 

“What if she… no, no, that doesn’t make sense. But what about?” Hurley sat on the bed, murmuring to herself, when she saw something strange out of the corner of her eye. She glanced over, and there were her and Sloanes’ masks, held up like hand puppets. “What the hell…” Before Hurley could get out a full sentence, her mask began to “speak” in a comical voice.

“Hey! Why didn’t the skeleton want to dance at the party?” 

“Because he had no body to dance with!” The other mask responded in an equally absurd voice, and then they both burst out into cackling laughter. 

“What does a skeleton order at a restaurant?”

“Spare Ribs!” Again, the laughter, while Hurley just looked on in slight confusion.

“Why are skeletons so calm?” 

“Because nothing gets under their skin!” At that Hurley snorted a little, and the masks suddenly stopped moving, then turned towards her, and back, then towards her again before they were unceremoniously dropped to the floor and replaced with Sloane’s face, resting on the edge of the bed. Her hands lay under her chin, and she looked up at Hurley with a goofy smile.

“Hmm?”

“Hmm what? What was the point of all that?” 

“Well,” Sloane lifted herself up and sat down next to Hurley with her arm wrapped around her shoulder, shoving some of her case files off the bed in the process. Hurley tried to protest, but Sloane just shushed her and continued on, “You’ve been so stressed about all your work lately, and when you get stressed you have the habit of throwing yourself further into your work, which, don’t get me wrong, is usually really cute especially when you get close to figuring something out and you scrunch up your nose and your fingers start tapping a lot,” Hurley blushed furiously, and tried to wiggle out of Sloanes grip, but she refused to let go. “But I also know that you get headaches a lot when your stressed, so I wanted to cheer you up!”

Hurley stopped trying to escape Sloanes grasp and looked up at her, her steady gaze turning the usual calm and confident woman next to her into a nervous mess, and she pulled her arm away from Hurley and started fiddling with a ring on her finger. “Sooo, did you like it? I mean, I know it was nothing big, just a couple of stupid jokes, but I just though-” Hurley cut her off by pressing her lips to hers. Sloane seemed surprised at first, her eyes wide, but quickly sunk into the kiss, her arms wrapping around Hurley’s waist while Hurley’s were wrapped around her neck. Hurley pulled away from the kiss, and rested her forehead against Sloanes.

“I loved it. And I love you. Thank you for trying to help.” Sloane's face broke out in a huge grin, and she leaned in to give Hurley a peck on the lips, but before she could Hurley had pulled away to grab another file, and Sloane ended up plopping down ungracefully onto the bed, covering a fair amount of the files. 

“But Huurrrlllleeeyyyy, I’m bored.” 

“Well hello bored, it’s nice to meet you. Now move, I need to finish at least a few more cases before we go to bed.” Sloane huffed, then sat up and crossed her arms, pouting. Hurley only smiled at her girlfriends antics, picking up the nearest file. It was a theft, fairly straightforward, but the militia had almost no leads and the item stolen was small, just a ring holding an emerald, but the woman it was stolen from donated a fair amount to the militia, so it needed to be solved, at least according to the Captain. Hurley was getting nowhere for ideas as to what could have happened when she was distracted once again. 

“Boop.” 

“Sloane.”

“Booop.”

“Sloane, stop.”

“Boooooooop!”

“Sloane!” Hurley quickly reached out and grabbed Sloane’s hand just as she was pulling it back from once again pocking Hurley in the face. 

“What? C’mon, you can’t blame me, you get so cute when you’re angry!” When Hurley didn’t respond immediately, Sloane tried to move to poke her again, but Hurley just grabbed her hand, where a gold ring holding an emerald was on her ring finger. 

“Sloane. Where did you get this ring?” Sloane began to look nervous, anxiety clear on her face, and she pulled her hand away and began fiddling with the ring again.

“Nowhere, I, I just found it somewhere.” 

“Sloane, if you found it nowhere and somewhere, then why does it look exactly like this ring? You know, the one that was stolen from a noblewoman? The one which I’ve been trying to find for weeks?” As Hurley spoke, she began to get angrier and angrier, till the paper in her hands was near-crumpled and her fingers were white. 

“Uhh, I don’t know? Maybe it’s a popular design?” At that Hurley leapt off the bed, away from Sloane, and started pacing around the room. 

“Are you kidding me Sloane? Did you really expect me to believe such a half-assed excuse like that?” As Hurley continued on Sloane shrunk back in the bed, growing more and more nervous. Finally, Hurley stopped, the look on her face more one of exasperation than anger. “Just, why would you do this Sloane? I don’t understand. Please, help me understand.” 

“Gods, I, I don't know, I just-” Sloane dropped her head into her hands, her expression laced with frustration, and Hurley sighed and walked over to the side of the bed, placing her hand on Sloane’s shoulder.

“Sloane, I’m not mad.” Sloane lifted her head and raised an eyebrow at this. “Alright, so maybe I’m a little mad, but that’s more about keeping this from me for so long than for the actual stealing.”

“I know, you should be mad at me. I know what I did was wrong, I know keeping it from you was wrong, it’s just, it was so easy! I slipped it right off her finger, she never saw me!” Sloane’s eyes began to shine slightly as she recounted how she stole the ring, but she stopped and looked away when she saw the concerned look on Hurley’s face. Hurley raised her hand up to Sloanes face, forcing her to look her in the eyes. “I didn’t mean to make it hard for you, I promise.”

“It’s alright Sloane, I know you didn’t. You’re a good person, and we can fix this. I’ll just say that I found it in her house, and that she misplaced it somewhere stupid or something like that. The case will be solved, and no one gets in trouble.” Sloane nodded, leaning further into the warmth of Hurley's hand, then slipped the ring off her finger and put it in the Lieutenants other outstretched hand. She smiled slgihtly, laughing slightly to herself. Hurley tilted her head and put her hand on her waist, a gentle smile on her face. “And what’s so funny?”

“Never thought it’d be me who gave you a ring first.” Hurley chuckled, then tucked the ring into her pocket and climbed up on the bed, sitting on her girlfriends lap and giving her a peck on the cheek before burrowing under her chin. 

“I don’t want you to think that you have to hide things from me Sloane, no matter what.” Sloane sighed, running her hands through Hurley’s short-cropped hair and breathing in the gentle scent of citrus from the soap she used, and that somehow seemed ever present around the small woman. 

“I know, I know. I promise I won’t hide anything from you from now on, no matter what it is.” Hurley nodded, happy with that response, and they sat there for a few minutes, basking in the others presence in such a way that they did not get to enjoy often during the waking hours. Sloane continued to run her hands through Hurley’s hair, and Hurley fiddled with the hem of Sloane’s shirt. 

“Sloane?”

“Yeah Hurls?” 

“What’s this?” Sloane looked down, and saw that Hurley was touching the sash that she wore around her waist, which looked like it was made of brown tree reeds woven together. 

“Oh, it’s just something I found.” Hurley looked up, her brow furrowed.

“Sloane, we just talked about this. No lying.”

“I swear! I’m not lying, I promise Hurls, I found it! Outside of my garage, it was just lying next to this dirty old red robe!” Hurley looked up at her with suspicion, but eventually nodded and laid her head back down on Sloane’s chest. 

“Fine. That sounds suspicious, but I’m too tired to argue, so I’ll believe you.” Hurley’s sentence was cut off short with a yawn, and Sloane looked down lovingly at the halfling currently falling asleep on her chest.

“Didn’t you say that you had to finish some cases before you went to sleep?”

“Shhhh, I finished one, it’s fine.”

“You only finished that because your girlfriend was the culprit.”

“Shhh, still counts”

“Hurls-” 

“Shhhhhhhh, sleepy time.” Sloane clearly wasn’t going to convince Hurley to get up anytime tonight, so she scooted down further so she was lying down as well, and flicked her wrist so the lights in the room flickered off. She wrapped her arms around the halfling, who had begun to drool on her chest, and smiled gently, wondering what she had done to deserve such a wonderful girlfriend, or what she would have to pay in the future to make up for it.

 

—————————————————————————————————

 

“Hurley! I need to see you in my office for a moment!” Hurley looked up from the paperwork she was working on, just seeing the retreating form of Capt. Captain Bane entering his office. She sighed, then hopped off her chair, grumbling to herself.

“What does he need from me now, I was almost done with that paperwork and then my shift’s over.” She walked into the Captains office, saluting him before sitting down in the seat opposite his desk. He looked tired, the bags under his eyes visible even in the dim lighting of the office, and when he spoke, his voice held even more than his usual gruff-ness.

“Liuetenant, thank you for meeting with me.”

“Of course Captain. If you don’t mind my bluntness, what do you want? I’m almost done with my shift, and I would really like to get home quickly.” The Captain reached a hand up and rubbed his eyes, staying quiet for a few moments before speaking again.

“About that… a case jus came in, a big one, and I to put you on it.” 

“With all due respect sir, why me? You’ve already given me more cases than anyone else! Why do you need to give me another?”

“Hurley.” Hurley stopped her ramblings at his use of her first name. They had worked together for a long time, and known each other even longer. They had an unspoken rule(:) when the other used their first name, it was a way of saying ‘trust me, I’m 99% sure about this’. She sighed, unhappy but not willing to break their system.

“Fine. I’ll take the case.” The relief was clear on Capt. Bane’s face. “So what are the details?” He cleared his throat and shuffled a few papers around on his desk, seemingly nervous.

“Here’s the thing, we don’t really have any details. Or leads. Or clues.” Hurley closed her eyes and breathed in and out, balancing her Ki. 

“Alright. So, what _do_ we know?” 

“It’s a murder case, a city official was found dead in his office, clear signs of a struggle. He was found by his secretary about an hour after his death, though she wasn’t on the same level of his office at the time of his death.” 

  
“So it happened tonight?”

“Yes, just a few hours ago.” Hurley hopped off the chair and stretched her arms behind her back before beginning to walk out of the room.

“I’ll head over there now and check out the crime scene, I just have to call someone first.” Before she was fully out of the room, she heard the Captain’s voice again.

“Thank you for agreeing to take on this case Lieutenant, I know I’ve been assigning you a higher amount of cases lately, and I’m sorry. I just don’t trust anyone else to complete the work like you do.” A sad smile appeared on her face, and she nodded before leaving the room. 

She grabbed her few things that she had with her at the militia HQ before heading down to the streets. She knew the city well, so she ducked into a side alley while heading for the city officials office. She pulled a stone of far speech out of her pocket, wishing to tell Sloane that she would be home late tonight.

“Sloane? Hey, are you there?” The connection was made, though Hurley got no response from Sloane. She could faintly hear sounds of metal hitting the floor, and the sound of something growing? “Sloane, can you hear me?” The sounds suddenly stopped, then the connection between the two stones was lost. Hurley was confused, but she had made it to the office building, so she made a mental note to check up on Sloane immediately after she was done here. 

She hurried up the steps, flashing her badge at the militia-men outside before walking inside. She was greeted by her coworker, Barry Strawberry, who saluted her before leading her past the elevators and to the stairwell. 

“Strawberry, who don’t we just take the elevator? It’s bound to be quicker.” Barry scratched at the back of his head somewhat abashedly as they continued up the steps.

“Erm, the elevators are sort of out of order at the moment. It’s sort of hard to explain, you’ll see when we get up there.” Hurley looked as if she wanted to ask more questions, but said nothing, and they made the silent trek up to the top level in ten minutes. 

The first thing that Hurley noticed when she pushed open the stairwell door was the vines. They were littered all over the main area, and there were several militia men and women who were working to clear them, though it was hard to tell whether they were making any progress or not. When she walked further in, after climbing over a few mounds of the plants, she saw what Barry had meant about the elevators. The door was wrenched open, and vines were stabbed through it several times, reaching across it so as to hold it in place. 

“Holy shit.” Barry appeared by her side, apparently having caught his breath, and motioned to the elevator.

“See what I mean? His secretary had tried to take the elevator, but when it didn’t work she came up the stairs and came out to, well, this.”

“Do you know what kind of magic this is?”

“I can’t say for sure, but I’m pretty sure it’s some kind of conjuration magic, though nothing I’ve ever seen, or even heard of.” 

“Yes,” Hurley nodded, a look of concentration on her face as the gears of her mind began to move while thinking of any possible obvious culprits. “The culprit had to be a powerful magic user, this is not the work of some common criminal or an apprentice magician. Barry, can you get a list of the most powerful known magic users in the city? It’d be a good start at least.” 

Barry nodded, then put a hand reassuringly on Hurley’s shoulder. 

“Course, I’ll get right on that. Don’t worry Lieutenant, I’m sure that we’ll catch whoever did this soon enough.” He hurried off, shouting at a few militia men to come with him. Hurley turned towards the now closed doors of the officials office, bracing herself for whatever may await inside before entering. 

The office, like outside, was littered with vines, though most of these were still intact as the teams outside had not had the time to clear away the ones in here. The official sat at his desk, still in his chair, with a vine run right through his chest, then wrapped around the chair, apparently holding him there. Hurley almost gagged at the sight, but swallowed the bile in her throat and continued surveying the room, though cautiously. As she walked further into the room, she noticed two things. One, that his hands were in fists, though it seemed as if one had been wrenched open and something taken from it after his death. Two, the window on the left side of his office was broken, while the one on the right was not.

“They might have escaped through it.” Hurley spoke this revelation aloud, then clambered over the countless vines in order to get to the window, determined to find some sort of evidence. At first glance, there didn’t seem to be anything noteworthy about the broken window, though it did seem like a clear point of exit for the culprit. Hurley picked up a few pieces of glass before noticing the edge of the windowsill.

A bit of it had broken off, like the person had tried to jump but it had given out under them, and they fell. _What if…_ an idea raced through her mind, and before she gave any more thought to it, she leaned over the windowsill and out into the night sky, barely taking note of the drops of rain that began to fall from the sky as her gaze landed on something that made her heart stop and skin go pale. She reached a hand down to confirm it, but she already knew what they were. 

Raven’s feathers. She held them in her hand, feeling over the texture that she had grown to know so well over these past months, their sleek yet soft feel so, so familiar. Tears pricked at the edges of Hurley’s eyes, her hands shaking and in fists, the feathers crumpled. Her breaths came out shaky, and so many thoughts were racing through her mind that she could barely focus on a single one. 

“ _It can’t have been her.”_

_“She wouldn’t do this.”_

_“We’ve always said no killing.”_

_“How could she have done this?”_

_“She did this.”_

A sob broke from Hurley’s mouth, and she was struggling to keep the tears that were now welling up in her eyes from falling. She covered her mouth to muffle the sound and scrambled over the vines again, the feathers still clutched desperately in her hand. She rushed out of the room, pushing past a surprised Barry before slamming open the door to the stairwell and rushing out the building. She could faintly hear the concerned voice of Barry yelling after her, but she paid it no mind, focused only on one thing; finding Sloane. 

The rain was pouring by this point, and she let her tears freely fall, and she ran through the back alleys and gutters of Goldcliffe to the place where she knew Sloane was, the place where she had to be. As she got closer and closer to the West End of Huntington, the ground beneath her grew less paved, and combined with the rain equaled what was essentially a soaking cold mud pit. In her haste, she tripped over something unseen beneath the mud, leading face first in the muck. She struggled to get up, the sludge pulling at her limbs as she yanked them up, one by one, but her right arm refused to give. She pulled, and pulled, and pulled, and when it finally came free, she stumbled backwards, falling back into the mud, though this time sitting up. 

As she sat there, unmoving, stuck in the mud, she broke. Unintelligible words began to fall from her mouth, and she brought her hands up to wipe the tears that were now rivaling the twin waterfalls just outside of Goldcliffe, though that did little except for streak her face with more mud. She glanced around, and no one was around to see her breakdown. She could hear nothing except for the sound of the rain hitting the ground and the tin roofs. She felt, and was, truly, utterly, alone. 

She took a few shaky breaths, then stood, her previous momentum lost, and stumbled to the wall. The rain and muck had soaked through her clothes, to her bones, and each step she took forward was accompanied by her incessant shivering. She trekked through the alley ways for what felt like hours before she came to stand before one that she knew like the back of her hand. 

The garage, while it was never really clean, resembled the crime scene at this point more than anything else. Vines and tools were thrown around, and the walls were dented, as if someone had been throwing things at them. There were drops of blood on the floor, leading over to the table in the corner. A figure was hunched over the table, fiddling with something out of sight and mumbling to themselves. 

“Sloane.” The figure jumped, then turned around, her hand raised as if about to cast a spell. Her eyes widened when she saw the bruised and mud-covered Hurley standing in the doorway.

“Hurley! Hey! Uhm, what are you doing here? I thought you’d be home by now.” Hurley held her stare with the woman, not moving an inch.

“Sloane. I know what you did.” Sloane opened her mouth to speak, but Hurley just held up the cursed, mud covered feathers that she still held in her hand. Her facade breaks slightly, her eyebrows knitted together. “Please. Tell me I’m wrong. Tell me this wasn’t you. Tell me that we can just go home, and shower, and never have to think about this again.” Her voice cracked, pain lacing every word. 

“Hurley… please, let’s just go home.” Sloane took a few cautious steps forward, but in a few second Hurley’s face was contorted with rage, and she threw the handful of feathers at Sloane. 

“This is murder Sloane! You murdered someone! Why? Why didn’t you keep your promise? We said no killing! Not on the track and absolutely not off of it!” Sloane stepped forward again, and grabbed Hurley’s hands in her own, refusing to let her pull back.

“Hurley, you don’t understand, I had to! He knew about me, he knew about you, he knew about us! He was trying to blackmail us! I had to protect you!” Hurley yanked her hands back in disgust, stumbling back outside into the rain. 

“How could you think that killing someone would be protecting me? How? I’d rather deal with losing my job and whatever else than have you kill someone! At least then I’d still have you.” 

“Hurley, You still have me, I’m still, I’m still here!” 

“No. You’re not my Sloane. I don’t know who you are, but you’re not her. My Sloane wouldn’t do this. And even if you were still, somehow her, you still wouldn’t be here. I have to take you in.” Confusion, realization, sadness, anger, all were emotions that ran across Sloanes face in the moments after Hurley spoke. Hurley took a step towards Sloane, her hand extended, but she just shook her head, disgust clear on her face.

Sloane’s fingers began to twist and contort, whispering words in some language which Hurley neither understood or recognized. Her eyes began to glow a vibrant, blinding blue, forcing Hurley to squint and try to cover her eyes. Hurley could faintly hear a cracking noise over the loud buzzing and sparking of the magic around her, and the ground began to rumble and shake. She took a hesitant and blind step forward, but was immediately jettisoned back by a volley of vines. She tried to fight against them, but they had both number and strength over her, and she was thrown against the wall of the building opposite the garage. She slumped to the ground, rain pour down her face, and as she faded from consciousness, the last thing she saw was Sloane’s figure donning the Raven mask.

When she awoke, she could not tell what time it was, as the sky was still covered in clouds, and a gentle patter of rain fell down. Her face was caked, clothes, every part of her was caked with mud, which cracked with every movement as she stood. Her head throbbed, and a small trickle of blood dripped down her face from a wound hidden by her hair. When she peeled open her eyes, she noticed three things; Sloane was gone, the battlewagon was gone, and the garage was gone. The garage had been smashed to bits, barely recognizable as a structure anymore, and there were faint battlewagon tracks in the mud.

“Oh fuck.” Hurley took a few shaky breaths before tearing her gaze from the ruins of the garage and back to the street. The battlewagon tracks had been almost entirely washed away by the storm, and Hurley could only follow them for a few feet before they disappeared altogether. A deep sigh escaped her lips, then she turned left and began hobbling home 

“ _Wait, no. No, not left, right. My place is, right.”_ Hurley shook her head, remembering that she could not return to Sloane’s apartment, and turned again, heading instead in the direction of her own small domicile. 

She hadn’t been to her own home in weeks, and that much was obvious when she shut the door behind her. Everything in the room was covered in a thin layer of dust, unmoved from when she had last been the room. She took little time to peer around the room, mud tracked in behind her as she stepped into her small bathroom. As always, her mind raced while in the shower, thought after thought passing by.

“ _I have to tell Capt. Bane.”_

_“I have to tell him about me and Sloane… the Raven and the Ram.”_

“ _I have to take her in.”_ Hurley rested her forehead against the cool tiles of the wall, rivulets of water down into the drain, washing away the mud and blood and _grief_ , till she was left with only her her thoughts and the faint feeling of something gone wrong. She took a steely breath, determined not to break down any further than she had already. She had a job to do. 

All that determination broke the moment she stepped out of the bathroom and took clear notice of her room. What previously looked like an unbroken layer of dust was actually a mostly unbroken layer of dust with a few discrepancies; the layer near the window was disturbed, there was a trail of moved dust on the floor, and the ram mask set on the desk. “No…” 

She walked slowly across the room, as if afraid of the mask, and held it in her shaky grip. All determination washed away, sobs broke from her chest and tears welled up in her eyes for what must have been the at least the fourth time that night. She fell to the floor, the events of the night piling and piling and piling to an overwhelming state, and the only thing which kept her here was the feel of the mask clutched in her hands. The crack in the glass from when she hit the brakes just a little too hard, the rough path from when she fell out of the wagon and her bubble didn’t deploy, the memory of every kiss Sloane placed upon it’s brow when she couldn’t reach her face. 

Hurley fell asleep like that, curled up on the floor with the mask clutched desperately to her chest, her anchor to the world, and her dream that night were cold, dark, and frightening. 

 

—————————————————————————————————

 

Lieutenant Hurley of the Goldcliffe Militia had seen a lot of very, very, _very_ strange things in all her years working on the force, the top one being being a woman in a leather and feathers scaling a three story building in a manner of seconds, but she was finally moved out of her top spot by the arrival of three strange men in Goldcliffe. 

A man built like an oak shithouse, an umbrella wielding elf, and a dwarven grandpa who flirted with plants. _Tres Horny Boys_. They wore the title with pride, no shame in their voices or stature, and it always made Hurley laugh. She knew few people who were as comfortable in their own shoes as those boys, really only one other. 

They really were good people, they listened to her when she told them that she wasn’t a killer. That it wasn’t her. They understood better than most. The dwarf, no, Merle, held a look in his eyes that said he knew completely. Hurley never wanted to ask the circumstances that lead to such a look, but it was comforting to share it with another. Seeing them bluff and flirt and fight their way through the oddest of circumstances always brought a smile to her lips, even when thing’s didn’t look so bright. 

It was stupid of her to think that everything would be over when they won the race. She’d lost control of the sash, that stupid sash, just like she had that rainy night. Still, it proved that it wasn't her, that it had never been her. The three had tried their best to pull Sloane out of it, out of the vines, out of the sash, out of everything, but they weren’t strong enough. Nothing was strong enough. But she could at least try. And look where it got her, lying here, dying. 

Hurley was pulled from these thoughts and reflections by a hand gently stroking her face. She shifted her head slightly, and there she was. Not a killer, not a god, not a raven, but Sloane. Her Sloane. Her eyebrows were knitted together with worry, her eyes sunken in, her face covered in scratches, but she was so, so beautiful. 

“Hey, where’d you go?” Hurley smiled, really smiled, for the first time in what felt like forever, and though it was painful to move, she lifted her hand up to cover Sloanes. 

“Heh, I could ask the same of you.” 

“I supposed you could.” Hurley could faintly hear the voices of the boys, asking if they could heal her. She knew they couldn’t. It was Silverpoint that was flowing through her veins. Sloane responded to their question as such, then turned back to her.

“Hurley, I need to ask you a question. How would you like to spend as long as we have with me?” Hurley strained, and leaned up, connecting her lips with Sloanes in a gentle kiss that said everything that needed to be said, everything that had gone unspoken over these past weeks and even further back. When they broke apart, Sloane smiled, then turned back to the boys, saying some final request about the objects like the Gaia Sash. Hurley’s breaths were coming slower and slower, and it became difficult to keep her eyes open, but she did see Sloane muttering the words to some spell, and felt the pain begin to fade as the poison became bark. It crawled up her skin, up Sloane’s skin, till it had almost engulfed the pair.

“You’re in troubleeeee.” Sloane smiled, remembering all the past times when Hurley had uttered that phrase. It was there when they first met, when they first laughed, when they first loved, and now it would accompany them to their end. 

“Ha, I know I am Hurls. I know I am” Sloane pressed a gentle kiss into Hurley’s hair.

“I still can’t believe you didn’t get me a ring.”

“I’ll get you one next time around Hurls, promise.”

**Author's Note:**

> I've wanted to write something for these two ever since I first listened to this arc, and I'm really happy with how this turned out. Shoutout to my friend at unsafewaters.tumblr.com for betaing this, otherwise im sure there would be a shit tone of typos. And who knows, maybe there still are! Anyway, thank's for reading this fic, and I hope you enjoy. Right now I only have four chapters planned to go along with the four panels from the comic, but that might change sometime. Updates on Sunday's! Also, like I said in the summary, if you liked the fic, please comment or leave a kudos, it really does help.
> 
> http://lizparlettdraws.tumblr.com/post/143087019961/one-more-set-of-kinda-spoiler-y-speculative  
> (Link to the comic)  
> (Seriously check her out her art is amazing)


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